The Need for Additional Border Patrol in the United States- Research Methods

Border Patrol has become an increasingly hot topic in the United States. The borders that separate Mexico and the state of Texas are in need of additional border patrol officers, as illegal immigrants are now on the rise. Texans believe increased border patrol is a necessity to keep their communities and the country safe. Thus, this true classical design will test whether adding border patrol officer will have an effect on the passage of illegal immigrants into the United States. Twelve of the twenty six border crossings in Texas will be randomly selected and will be tested for a 6 month span. The border crossings in the experimental group will be given additional border patrol officers while the border crossings in the control group will remain with no change in number of border patrol officers. To determine if the illegal immigrant numbers are affected by the additional border patrol officers, the numbers for both groups will be measured at the beginning of the experiment and after the test is completed and statistical data recorded and published by the Border Patrol Agency.

The need for additional Border Patrol in America

Illegal immigration and customs violations are becoming an increasing issue along the borders of the United States of America. There is much controversy among government officials, with great concern of the vulnerability of America to “the enemy,” such as ISIS. Enforcing immigration regulations has been an ongoing issue since the beginning of the twentieth century. This proposal will identify the challenges with open borders and the inspections that are performed on people and goods entering and leaving the United States.

Review of Literature:

Chad C Haddal (2010) a specialist in Immigration Policy of the United States of America described border patrol as the first line of defense against unauthorized migration into America. Haddal also stated that America is vulnerable due to the lack of legislative funding and border patrol officers. Haddal (2010) reports in 2010 agencies requested $297 million that would be used to hire 1,000 new Border Patrol agents, $37 million for two new unmanned aerial detection systems, $53 million for 160 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, $6.5 million for 30 new Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers, and $6 million for 20 new Customs and Border Protection (CBP) canine teams to improve border enforcement operations along the Southwest border. There is a strong desire for additional border patrol agents along Mexico and other bordering regions of America.

The Department of Homeland Security (2015) argues that despite the efforts of the agencies responsible for custom check points they remain ineffective without the border enforcement between inspection points. As the threats become greater, the Department of Homeland Security is trying to get a grip on the issue of illegal immigrants crossing over the borders. American border patrol has come far from the Mounted Guards assigned to inspection stations yet, the ability to patrol large vast of land are still a concern

Recently there has been a dramatic increase in the number of children migrating over the border in Texas. Texas Border Patrol agents are limited and cannot keep watch over the large spans of land. They are in dire need of Federal assistance. According to news reporter Hannah Fraser-Chanpong of CBS News (2014) Texas has detained over 500 illegals and apprehended as many as 1,400 people a day. Many of the illegals that came over the border were unaccompanied children. Another issue that has been brought up to the government and US citizens is the threat of terrorists crossing the borders of Texas.

Recently James O’ Keefe an American filmmaker demonstrated how easy it is for a terrorist to cross over into America from the Mexican border. In the video O’Keefe crosses over to Texas in a costume that resembles Osama Bin Laden. No one stopped him, because there was no patrol man in sight for miles. “I see no border patrol. I see no security,” O’Keefe (2014) said in the video before donning a bin Laden mask. O’Keefe (2014) continued, “Thousands of people have stood in my footsteps right now. They’ve come from South America, Honduras, Guatemala, and they’ve all crossed the border. And if they can cross, anybody can cross.”

There is a commonality in the arguments shared, America is vulnerable to illegal migration and terrorist threats unless there is increased funding in the border patrol and customs agencies. By adding border patrol and customs officers the entryways to America along bordering countries will be protected and secured. Additional patrols will put a stop to illegal drug cartels and other dangers coming into the country.

Problem, Theory, Variables, and Hypothesis:

Problem Statement: The lack of border patrol agents leaves the borders open and vulnerable to illegal migration and terrorist threats.

Theory: By adding additional border patrol agents, America’s borders will be more secure and will see a dramatic decrease in illegal immigrant’s crossing over onto American soil.

Independent Variable: 1,000 Border Patrol Officers

Indicator: 1,000 Border Patrol Officers

Dependent Variable: Illegal Immigrants

Hypothesis: Border Patrol that add an additional 1,000 Border Patrol Officers are less likely to have illegal immigrants than Border Patrol that do not add an additional 1,000 additional Border Patrol Officers.Population / Sample:

The population for this proposal is 26 border crossings in the great state of Texas, in which illegal immigrants are utilizing to cross over into the United States of America. The agency has a master list of the 26 border crossings along Mexico and Texas, so a probability sampling strategy will be utilized for this proposal. This proposal will explicitly use a simple random sample of 12 border crossings from the master list of 26 border crossings will be used (6 for the experimental group and 6 for the control group) will be tested.

Research Design:

True classical design would be best suited for further research into the study of the effects of additional border patrol agents along the borders or America. By randomly placing an additional 1,000 border patrol agents along America’s borders researchers will collect valuable information that will aide in identifying the additions as a valid solution to tightening up the security along open borders.

Data Collection:

Existing data will be collected for this proposal. By utilizing reports measuring the number of illegal immigrants crossing the borders versus the number of border patrol officers it is easy to determine the areas that are weakest and need more coverage. Statistical data reflecting the number of illegal immigrants will be measured before the experiment and 6 months after the experiment.